World

Ecuador holds poll on presidential term limits

2018-02-05 09:12:41

QUITO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorians went to the polls on Sunday to vote on whether or not to scrap a Constitutional amendment allowing indefinite reelection.

The referendum called by Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno is viewed by some as an attempt to thwart the political ambitions of his predecessor Rafael Correa, whose government proposed the amendment.

The head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Nubia Villacis, announced early in the day that "100 percent of the voting stations are making it feasible for citizens to exercise their right to vote."

The more than 35,000 stations, which are to remain open until 5 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT), also have the capacity "to tabulate the votes," so initial preliminary results are expected by 8 p.m. (01:00 GMT, Villacis added.

More than 13 million citizens, including some 40,000 Ecuadorians living abroad, are eligible to vote on seven questions, five of them proposed Constitutional amendments.

A second key amendment proposes barring politicians convicted of corruption from ever holding public office.

Correa, who served as president for 10 years (2007-2017) then went to live in Belgium with his family, returned to Quito in early January to campaign in favor of preserving the Constitutional amendment that allows indefinite reelection.

Moreno has said term limits are needed "to guarantee the principle of alternance" between different political currents.

"From my perspective, and I think from an ethical one, (indefinite reelection) is a political aberration," Moreno has said.